Hi, I am getting my feet wet in the ITIL space and need some information about implementing a fedarated CMDB.

I have looked at a few tools like Mercury Application Mapping, Managed Objects etc... They are good tools in their own right and act as sources of infrastructure information but don't provide a good platform to start the CMDB.

Any knowledge you guys can share as far implementing a fedarated CMDB would help a lot. Are you guys aware of any open source efforts in this regard?

I had to look up "fedarated" in dictionary.com, and it came back with 'no entry found' & 'do you mean 'federated'', which is defined as 'united under a central government '?

So, can you elaborate a bit more?

If it's any help, our work silos each had their own CMDBs including a home-grown one in LotusNotes. We have converted as a corporation to HP Openview (tool) and are busily populating their CMDB, and converting everyone (people) to use it (process).
*confused but trying*
/Sharon

BMC talks a lot about a federated CMDB. Check their web site. Basically it is the idea of not having everything in one huge database, but having a core set of data in the CMDB and then having links to the additional data. For instance you need to know the relationship of an application to hardware, but you don't need the contract information in your CMDB, you can have that linked in an Asset Management system. Thereby keeping your CMDB smaller and faster.

I have been working on BMC products for tha last 2 years.
Have done a single CMDB Implementation with BMC Atrium CMDB.
If not a very robust solution, it is evelving fast to provide federated approach for a federated CMDB.
The CMDB application is a central database for all the Configuration Items and their relationships.
The various application - Helpdesk, Problem Management, Change Management, Asset Management and SLA then integrate well with each other and the CMDB to provide a complete solution.
But just to warn you, it one of the most expensive solution around._________________Regards,
Nikhil Kulkarni.
Application Analyst
cMango.. The Services Management Company

The taste of low quality lingers long after the satisfaction of low price.

We have a considerable investment in BMC already and have been using their other products for a number of years. This will be an upgrade moving from a highly customized version of 5.5 to 7.0. While it isn't the cheapest product, we have such a high dollar amount already tied up with them that it really makes the most sense. To move to anything else would require a huge development effort. Hopefully I will be able to report back by the end of the year that the move is complete and all data and processes were successful in porting without a great deal of pain....I am determined to make it happen!

I would caution you about asking for an idea of cost here. There are far too many variables between the companies, such as the number of users you will be licensed for, the number and sizes of servers you will be running on (i.e. how many processors) and then the number of the modules you are interested in. While you might not want to deal with the hype of working with BMC to come up with a cost, that is the only way you will even be able to get a rough estimate that you can really do any planning with or even use to eliminate one software in favor of another.

I'm not looking for detailed costs so much as rough estimates, based on the size of the enterprise. The general feedback seems to be that the BMC solution is very expensive and has significant gaps and issues. One of the biggest issues I get from acquaintances at other companies is that they tend to market more features than they're really offering and tend to over simplify many of their offerings, such that the implementers get stuck dealing with the fallout of a negotiated deal.

I want to get an idea from people on the forum of what others are paying (no company names and only rough numbers) and whether they feel they are truly getting what they're paying for.